The Donald Elmer Lawson Papers contain research material,
literary papers, correspondence, and photographs created and accumulated by
Donald Elmer Lawson between 1961 and 1989. Lawson's papers were created from
his composition of twenty-one children's non-fiction books on subjects in
American, European, and Asian history; modern North Africa; current events; and
civics.

Donald Elmer Lawson
was born on May 20, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, to Elmer and Christina (Grass)
Lawson. He displayed an interest in writing early in life and published stories
in his high school and college magazines. Lawson received a B.A. degree from
Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, in 1939 and attended the University of
Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1939-1940. He served in a counterintelligence unit of
the U.S. Army Air Corps in Europe during World War II. Lawson married Beatrice
Yates in 1945 and went to work for
Compton's Encyclopedia the following year.
He stayed with the company for the next twenty-seven years, eventually rising
to a vice presidential position.

The challenge of writing clear and dramatic encyclopedia articles drew
Lawson toward writing non-fiction books for children. He published his first
children's book,
Young People in the White House, in 1961,
the same year that he sold his first and only adult novel. A natural interest
in history, his wartime experiences, and his "personal belief that to achieve
peace we must first understand war," all motivated Lawson to write mainly on
subjects from American military history. Consequently, he produced The Young
People's History of America's Wars, an eleven-volume series covering American
military history from colonial wars to Vietnam; two anthologies of pacifist
writings; and several other books on military themes. Lawson also wroteand
edited works on European and Asian history, modern North Africa, current
events, and civics. He produced over forty non-fiction books during his career.

In 1970, Lawson received an honorary Litt.D. from Cornell College in
recognition of his accomplishments as a writer and editor. He left
Compton's in 1973 to become executive editor for
United Educators, Inc. He remained with that organization until his death in
1990.

The Donald Elmer Lawson Papers contain manuscripts, typescripts,
galleys, page proofs, blues, folded and gathered sheets, correspondence,
photographs, publications, and clippings created and accumulated by Donald
Elmer Lawson between 1961 and 1989. Lawson's papers were created from his
composition of twenty-one published books. The material is organized into three
series: books, a photograph, and correspondence.

The papers in the books series contain material for twenty-one books,
covering the spectrum of Lawson's literary subject matter: American political
and military history, European and Asian history, modern North Africa, current
events, and civics. The papers are arranged alphabetically by title and the
material for each book is arranged chronologically in order of creation when
known. The material that Lawson collected for his research is mostly undated
and unarranged, but inclusive dates have been given for the dated material
included. In cases where most of the research material is dated, the items have
been arranged in chronological order. Also, Lawson regularly wrote, typed,
revised, and retyped the first drafts of books one chapter at a time. While his
method produced an accumulation of manuscript and early typescript pages
apparently in a state of disorder, the pages have a fixed arrangement scheme
and comprise unified, continuous narratives.

The Lawson Papers contain a photograph of Don Lawson,
Lena de Grummond,
and others at the first University of Southern Mississippi Book Festival in
1968. The pieces of correspondence with the de Grummond Children's Literature
Collection were selected and photocopied from the correspondence file of the de
Grummond Collection because they provide information on Don Lawson's appearance
at the festival as well as other biographical information. The letters are
arranged chronologically.

Restrictions on Use

Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United
States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be
used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's
responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary
permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion
of these materials, other than that noted above.

These papers were donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature
Collection of the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries by Donald Elmer
Lawson and Beatrice Yates Lawson between 1968 and 1992.

Carbon copies of typescripts of excerpts: "A Weapon Is
Born" by Quentin Reynolds (2 copies), "Raoul Lufbery: First American Ace" by
Edwin C. Parsons, "Billy Bishop: Canada's Great Ace" by Arch Whitehouse, "The
Day They Got Richthofen" by Gene Gurney (2 copies), "Birth of the Royal Air
Force" by John Gurdon (3 copies)

First complete typescript, edited, comprised of
manuscript pages, typescript pages, and earlier typescripts of excerpts:
"Learning to Fly on Nieuports" by Norman S. Archibald, "Billy Bishop: Canada's
Great Ace" by Arch Whitehouse, "The Day They Got Richthofen" by Gene Gurney,
"Birth of the Royal Air Force" by John Gurdon